Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
brown sugar
versus
molasses
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in brown sugar and molasses:
Both molasses and brown sugar are high in calories. Brown sugar has 31% more calories than molass - molass has 290 calories per 100 grams and brown sugar has 380 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, brown sugar is similar to molasses for protein, carbs and fat. Brown sugar has a macronutrient ratio of 0:100:0 and for molasses, 0:100:0 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Brown Sugar | Molasses | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | ~ | ~ |
| Carbohydrates | 100% | 100% |
| Fat | ~ | ~ |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both molasses and brown sugar are high in carbohydrates. Brown sugar has 31% more carbohydrates than molass - molass has 74.7g of total carbs per 100 grams and brown sugar has 98.1g of carbohydrates.
Both molasses and brown sugar are high in sugar. Brown sugar has 30% more sugar than molass - molass has 74.7g of sugar per 100 grams and brown sugar has 97g of sugar.
Brown sugar and molasses contain similar amounts of protein - brown sugar has 0.12g of protein per 100 grams and molass does not contain significant amounts.
Both molasses and brown sugar are low in saturated fat - molass has 0.02g of saturated fat per 100 grams and brown sugar does not contain significant amounts.
Molass has more thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
| Brown Sugar | Molasses | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | ~ | 0.041 MG |
| Riboflavin | ~ | 0.002 MG |
| Niacin | 0.11 MG | 0.93 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.132 MG | 0.804 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.041 MG | 0.67 MG |
| Folate | 1 UG | ~ |
Both molasses and brown sugar are high in calcium. Molass has 147% more calcium than brown sugar - molass has 205mg of calcium per 100 grams and brown sugar has 83mg of calcium.
Molass is an excellent source of iron and it has 565% more iron than brown sugar - molass has 4.7mg of iron per 100 grams and brown sugar has 0.71mg of iron.
Molass is an excellent source of potassium and it has 10 times more potassium than brown sugar - molass has 1464mg of potassium per 100 grams and brown sugar has 133mg of potassium.
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Brown Sugar (Sugar, brown) and Molasses (Molasses) .
Brown Sugar g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Molasses g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||